Hanging By The River

Right after work I picked up Bean and we rushed home and I got busy packing and then getting some random dinner things ready. Jon, Heath and Pumpkin came home and did some more packing up then Jon and I headed to a little parking spot along the river. Heath got some gas in the van then picked us up and drove us out to 151st street where it dead ends along the Little Blue River. She dropped us off and we got busy hiking.

Actually right off the bat we scared some teenagers parked out there pretty bad, I’m guessing they were up to no good and thought we were there to bust them. We hiked a bunch through the woods and split a 6 pack of beer. At first there was not much for trails. Eventually we got our way to the trails and the beers were gone so we picked up the pace. We took a fairly long route and eventually realized we would not be near the truck at dark.

So we did some jogging with the packs. Our packs were not too heavy because we were only out for like 12 hours and didn’t need much. We ran for quite a while and got to the truck just as the sun was setting. We passed the truck and rushed down to the river then crossed it and started searching the opposite bank. We found a grove of trees that fit our needs and unpacked. Once we were set up it was too dark for pictures but I took a few anyway.

So that is my hammock hanging between two trees and covered with part of an old tent I use as mosquito netting. The last time I hammock camped I had another line of rope above me to drape the netting on but this time I forgot it.

Here is the branch where I’m tied on and my pack hanging beside me. Also a bonus sweaty t-shirt is in this shot.

So it was like 8:30 and I was starving for dinner and we were both covered in spiderwebs, bugs, sweat and filth. We grabbed our food and a bag from boxed wine and headed down to the river. The water was cold but felt great. We scrubbed our arms and legs and faces and sat on rocks and ate our food and drank the wine.

We moved to the shore and dried off and swatted bugs and drank the rest of the wine until we were dry and ready to get some sleep. I changed into dry and warm clothes and climbed into bed.

I got too sleep fairly easy and it was not a bad night. It was a bit tough to find good positions and the netting would work it’s way onto my face and bother me. The bugs stayed off me and I was warm enough w/ out ever getting inside my fleece sleeping bag. I woke up at 3:45 and my back was a bit out of wack and I had some trouble getting comfortable and back to sleep. Then the next thing I knew our 4:30am alarms were going off.

We packed up our gear, Jon said he had a really solid 4 hours of sleep right away then tiny beetles worked their way down the ropes and onto him and bothered him the rest of the night. We crossed the river and went back to the truck. I changed into my running shoes and got my headlamp, drank a big swig of water and off we went. Jon and our packs headed to work and I started my run home. I tried with out the headlamp at first and saw some deer but little else, it was too crazy, muddy, spider web infested so I had to use the light.

I had a good jog and made good time after 3.5 miles I got to the trail and had a stop at a port a potty and a water fountain. Once I got near home my knees were pretty worn out so I caught my breath and stopped in Lamars for donuts. I’d never been in that early before and was really impressed with the selection. I got donuts for all my girls and then headed home. I tried running some more but had some sand or something wearing a blister on my toe so I took it easy.

I got home at 6:30 and cooked up a little healthy breakfast to go with the donuts, showered and got everyone up for work and school.